The Reds have added left-handed pitcher Brooks Raley to the 40-man roster and have designated outfielder Scott Schebler for assignment, as reported by Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Schebler, a mainstay on Reds teams of 2017 and 2018, has seen himself swiftly fall out of favor with the club as it collects a new crop of young outfielders. Jesse Winker, Phil Ervin, Nick Senzel, and Aristides Aquino have overtaken Schebler for playing time, and new arrivals Nicholas Castellanos and Shogo Akiyama only further cut into Schebler’s role.
Last year was a disaster for the 29-year-old Schebler, who limped to a .123/.253/.222 batting line, albeit in just 95 plate appearances. In the two years prior, however, Schebler was a different player, even reaching the 30-homer benchmark in 2017. From 2017-2018, he notched a .785 OPS while playing all three outfield positions on a consistent basis. That’s a player who can provide some value for a team, and teams with a thin outfield mix should have some interest in Schebler, who must either be traded or exposed to the other 29 teams via waivers in the next 7 days. Should he pass through waivers, he may then be released or assigned outright to the minors. That’s not a given, though, and he may be worth a claim as a depth outfielder.
Raley, meanwhile, is a particularly interesting case: the 32-year-old southpaw hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since 2013, when he was with the Cubs. After a stint in the Angels’ and Twins’ minor league systems, he commuted to South Korea, where he’s played in the KBO since 2015.
He’s getting a chance with the Reds this year as a non-roster invitee, and now he’s parlayed that into a spot on the 40-man roster. Nothing is certain, but there’s a decent chance he cracks Cincinnati’s Opening Day 30, joining a bullpen that will be key to the Reds’ performance this year. There’s no question that the rotation can be up there with the best in the National League, but the bullpen will need to collectively improve if they’re to compete in the Central division.
In five seasons with the KBO’s Lotte Giants, Raley threw 910 2/3 innings, making at least 30 starts every year. He struck out a total of 755 batters and posted a 4.13 ERA. Last year was his best in terms of home run prevention, but he also surrendered more walks than ever.
Good story for Raley. meanwhile Schebler should already be on a flight to Pittsburgh.
Nah down to Atlanta
Pittsburgh has waiver priority and a clear need
He can be traded before the waiver process can’t he?
yeah its possible, though the fact that whoever they trade for would have to be put on the 60 limits trading options, and given that a large percentage of waived players end up being claimed instead of being traded id just assume that’s more likely.
Atlanta doesn’t care about acquiring Schebler enough to offer the Reds anything through a trade. They’d be better off praying he slips to them through the waiver wire
Would love to see it, they have the worst roster in the NL and they desperately need power. Won’t happen though. Makes too much sense.
Braves please add this guy to replace Markakis. Big of schebler
Schebler will catch on with the Padres, Orioles, or Mariners.
Why did they DFA Schebler? I know he’s nothing great, but he has some power that could be useful off the bench.
too many OF on the roster. realistically one had to go.
Being 9th on the depth chart is not good, he was behind those 6 listed above plus Payton and Jankowski
Blue Jays, take a shot on Schebler please
Surprising to see Brooks Raley make the 40 man Roster especially since he had his worst K/BB marks last year in the KBO.
The Todd Frazier trade turned out to be a total dud for all teams involved ( athletics where not part of it but got montas) guess K Dodgers won it I guess with the half year they got from hill ( re-signing him is not part of the Frazier trade ) by flipping montas
Frazier had 1 year left, but we got some good time from both Peraza and Schebler. 2 good years for Peraza and 1 good year for Schebler.
Bleh Brooks Raley?
I like Scott Schebler, really hope he bounces back. You always wonder when a players stats fall off a cliff like his what happened?
Injury, confidence, etc ?
Still you hope he catches on in MLB but you could easily see him in KBO mashing it.
Brooks Raley with a career 7+ ERA? Must be a joke
Reds fans have to be furious at the lack of progression made in this Of over the last 5-7 years-
Duvall -Scheb — Stubbs- Ludwick- Dickerson- failed Puig/Kemp attempt- and ofc who could ever forget the Billy Hams project
Far away from the old days having Griffey and Dunn every year. This has to be frustrating
Winker’s been a mild disappointment as well. He was supposed to be an elite offensive weapon, but looks more like a platoon option and defensive liability. There’s still hope, but he needs to show more.
Hopefully Aquino wasn’t a flash in the plan. Senzel likely displaces Galvis at shortstop at some point, with Akiyama taking over in center. Castellanos is definitely the best swinging outfielder and Ervin showed signs of life down the stretch, so it looks like Cincinnati should be in good hands as long as one of those players steps up
Yea No doubt but its tough to keep a franchise up when you have to pay everyone via free agency to fill holes-
I certainly hope Winker Aquino Akiyama will do better but like you said “We’ve been down this road before”
On the flip side they have nailed the staff on the cheap and have a couple high upside arms in the pen in the wings……… Its not all bad but certainly they wish they had produced a little more home grown talent on offence for when the time to spend came
The Padres have to be thinking the same thing after Margot Renfroe Cordero Franmil etc etc etc
Senzel won’t be the shortstop, top 3 prospect Jose Garcia is the Reds shortstop-in-waiting.